There is not suppose to be a wild elk [or wapiti (Cervus canadensis)] population in the state of Ohio*.

Of course, don’t tell that to the person that hit one the other day. After that one was killed, a local resident saw another one. But officials are not willing to confirm elk #2. Yet.

An elk struck and killed by a car near Lisbon, Ohio, on Thursday night, October 8th, is leaving wildlife officials scratching their heads.

District Wildlife Officer Scott Angelo said the Ohio Department of Agriculture in Reynoldsburg is testing the body of the small bull elk, which was struck and killed by a vehicle Thursday night on state Route 45 south of the village, for Chronic Wasting Disease.

“All we’re doing is just taking precautions. We want to make sure that we’re actively monitoring it,” he explained.

He noted Ohio does not have a wild elk population, meaning the elk either escaped from an enclosure prior to being hit or it wandered in from a neighboring state, such as Pennsylvania, which has an active elk population. Ohio has not had a wild elk population for more than 100 years. The department believes the elk was raised domestically and local department leaders are hoping the owner claims it to help them in their investigation.

“This is something that happens very, very rarely,” he said of an elk sighting in the county.

The elk struck was about 250 pounds, only a little larger than a large whitetail deer, Angelo noted. Adult bull elk tend to weigh between 600 and 700 pounds.

A Lisbon resident who lives in the area of state Routes 11 and 154 had reported seeing an elk in his yard prior to the accident. He called the department Friday, October 9th, to report having seen another elk in the yard.

Considering that a vehicle hit an elk not far from the resident’s home the same evening as the call, Angelo believes the resident is able to successfully identify an elk, but the department is not yet confirming the sighting. The second sighting occurred after the vehicle struck the elk, meaning if both sighting were correct, at least two elk have been loose in the area.

“We’re treating it as a reliable source, but we’re not confirming it yet,” the official stated.

He did not have the source’s name available Friday evening, October 9th.

It is legal to raise elk in Ohio and owners do not need a permit to keep them, only to transport them across the state border. However, Angelo noted owners of elk must take measures to keep them in their enclosures, are not permitted to release them into the wild and are required to contact the Ohio Department of Natural Resources within 24 hours of an elk escape, according to The Review of East Liverpool, Ohio.

*The Rocky Mountain elk subspecies has been reintroduced by hunter-conservation organizations in the Appalachian region of the eastern U.S., where the now extinct Eastern elk once lived. After elk were reintroduced in the states of Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee, they migrated into the neighboring states of Virginia and West Virginia, and have established permanent populations there. Elk have also been reintroduced to a number of other states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. But none are specifically known for Ohio. There is, reportedly, a cryptid population in New Zealand.

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8 Responses to “From Whence Cometh The Mystery Elk?”

Let’s play the name/numbers game. This particular Lisbon is in Clark County on Rt. 54. It’s less than 10 miles from the Fayette County border. The other Lisbon is in Columbiana County and is only about 10 miles from the Pennsylvania border so if this had occured there, there wouldn’t be any mystery about an elk straying over from PA. However, I found it amusing that, less than a mile from the Columbiana County Lisbon is a little burg called “Elkton” on Rt. 154. Go to MapQuest and just put in “Lisbon” and go to the Columbiana County one and you’ll see it.

According to several reports the Elk (wapiti) found in New Zealand were given as a gift in 1909 by President Roosevelt to New Zealand. They were released into the Fiordland in the Southwestern part of the South Island and reproduced rapidly according to Cardrona Safaris of New Zealand.

The elk in NZ are certainly not cryptid. They are a viable target for many hunters and several are taken every year.

There is, however, a cryptid population of moose on the South Island. Sightings and tracks have been reported over the years since several animals of Canadian origin were released there in 1910. A recent DOA testing of a hair sample seems to confirm that they still exist in the deep damp reaches of the South Island fjordland forests and may well be an established New Zealand mammal resident.

cryptidsrus,
This part of Ohio is mostly flat, open agricultural land, with scattered woodlots and trees along fencerows… but not a lot of hiding spots for critters as big as an elk.

+++

The elk in Kentucky were introduced in the late 90s, and they are limited to the southeastern portion of the state. See more.

This particular Lisbon is in Clark County as I understand it, which is closer to smack dab in the middle of the state (from north to south) and pretty far west. Now, if this elk were found in southeastern Appalachian Ohio, say in Lawrence or Gallia County, I’d say one might have wandered just a bit north. But this was hit in the “flat lands” part of the state.

The PA Elk population is in the North Central part of the state outside St Marys near a small town called Benezette. It would have traveled over 350 miles from the PA herd. Seems much more likely that its origin is Kentucky or escaped from a farm.